Results for "windows-phone"

Microsoft is now offering a download of Windows Phone 8.1 early. There is a catch though; you have to be registered as a developer to get the download early. You can also be running a smartphone that is "developer unlocked" to get the update. Microsoft said that this preview period is aimed at allowing developers to be sure that their apps will run correctly on a phone before the update launches to the general public.

Amazon's Fire TV launched last week to grand fanfare and plenty of promise, but as we discovered in our review the streaming box isn't quite perfect yet. Taking on Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku with faster performance, easier search, and more compelling gaming makes a lot of sense, but some aspects of the Fire TV experience still need work. Head on past the cut to find the five tweaks that could make Fire TV the set-top box to beat.

Apple has CarPlay, Google has the Android Open Automotive Alliance, and now Microsoft has Windows in the Car, its own take on piping smartphone content from your Windows Phone directly to the dashboard. Quietly demonstrated at Build 2014 this past week, in concept form at least, Windows in the Car pares back the standard Windows Phone interface to suit center console touchscreens and safer use while on the move thanks to features like Cortana.

When you have a product like Kinect, so closely associated with gaming, how do you convince everybody else that they should be installing a motion-tracking camera in the home? Microsoft is looking to smart home technology and health, among other things, to do just that with Kinect for Windows v2, though a stealthy spread through Cortana and smartphones may be just as vital. We caught up with Microsoft’s Michael Mott, general manager of Xbox applications and developer relations, to find out how virtual assistants and home automation could make Kinect-tech the next must-have.

Windows Phone 8.1's most memorable feature may be Cortana, its Halo-themed personal digital assistant, but the chatty Siri-rival isn’t the only change Microsoft has brought with the new version. Greater customization potential, better control over settings, and improved integration of Skype and third-party services are all incoming. We spent some hands-on time with Windows Phone 8.1 to find out what's special.

Flipboard is one of the lingering app omissions for Windows Phone, the news-reader app still limited to iOS and Android smartphones, but Microsoft brought along the latest version to Build 2014 to show it at least hadn't fallen off the radar. Unfortunately, while it's working - at least sufficiently for a brief demo on-stage - you still won't be able to find it in the Windows Phone Store.

America, do not fall in love with the orange rear of the Nokia Lumia 930. The Finnish firm's new high-end Windows Phone may like to flaunt its baboon-like backside, far brighter than the sober black or white rear panels on Verizon's Lumia Icon, but for fans of color there's no point in holding your breath for a US release.

Microsoft brought on well over two hours of content to the public this week on the first day of BUILD 2014, the company’s developer conference. Here we learned about Windows 8.1 Update, Windows Phone 8.1, and Universal Windows Apps. We also got our first glimpse of Microsoft’s natural language personal assistant, Cortana.

With the Nokia Lumia 630 and Nokia Lumia 635, the company is going for another release that’ll match their success with the Nokia Lumia 520. The Nokia Lumia 520 is, after all, the best-selling smartphone in its price range according to several studies as well as Nokia. Here with the Lumia 630 and 635, things get a bit bigger in all aspects.

Microsoft's Build 2014 opens tomorrow, April 2nd, a chance for new CEO Satya Nadella to not only convince developers and the industry that his "mobile first, cloud first" strategy makes sense, but that Microsoft has the skills to deliver on it. After impressing with the Office for iPad launch, Nadella has a far bigger audience to preach The Windows Way to at Build, though there are plenty of balls in the air that he still needs to keep moving.